This invention relates to a document guide mechanism which is used to guide documents into a pocket as is done in document processing machines such as proof and sorting machines, for example.
Some of the problems with feeding financial documents, like checks, for example, are due to the extreme variation in size and condition of the documents and to the materials from which these documents are made. For example, the sizes of the documents processed in a financial proof machine can range from about 21/2 to 41/2 inches in height and from about 41/2 to 9 inches in length in an intermixed batch of documents. Many of the documents like checks, for example, have been carried in wallets and have a "U"-bend in them. Others are "dog eared" or cut, or have wrinkles in them. Some checks are very thin and flexible while other checks are stiff and made from card stock. It is apparent that when 250 to 300 of such documents are grouped together to be processed in a batch as is done in processing financial documents, the variation in size, condition, and materials mentioned presents problems.
One of the operations which is performed in the processing of financial documents is to process a batch of such documents on a machine which performs a sorting function. This machine has a plurality of pockets into which the documents are routed and stacked based on certain data read from the documents. For example, all documents of a certain type or destination end up in a designated pocket while being retained in the processing sequence. As the documents accumulate in a pocket, the documents have a tendency to "fan out" and rest against a rib (feeding line) along which the incoming documents are guided. When this happens, the leading edge of an incoming document can hit the trailing edges of the pocketed documents causing problems. Often, this results in the incoming document being pocketed in between the previously pocketed documents, resulting in the incoming document being pocketed out of sequence with regard to the processing sequence mentioned. A worse result is to have the leading edge of an incoming document crash into the trailing edge of a pocketed document, resulting in a jam which requires the operator to stop the machine to clear the jam. Very often, the incoming document is crushed in accordion-like fashion by such a jam, making the crushed document unsuitable for further machine processing.